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  WRITTEN BY  LIESL ULRICH-VERDERBER What can a creature with a brain smaller than a pinhead, have to teach us about the nature of physics, robotics and the future of advanced technology? For the fire ant, what it may lack in size, it makes up for in millions of years of evolutionary genius. Over the winding road to the modern fire ant, it has made more than a few adaptations that are, to say the least, incredible. Source:  Wikimedia So, what do I mean when I say that a  fire ant  can be incredible? Well, let’s start with this: Did you know that a colony of fire ants can be considered a material? Better yet, a material that can be a liquid or a solid? A group of remarkable scientists at the  Georgia Institute of Technology’s Biolocomotion Lab  has done just about anything you can do to a colony of fire ants, to test their remarkable capabilities. For example, coating them in gold, submerging them in water, and t...

WRITTEN BY  LIESL ULRICH-VERDERBER Are you afraid of  snakes ? What about  robots ? What about  snake  robots? Now  here’s  one of those new innovations in robotics that’s solving problems by combining two things that don’t  quite  seem to go together at first thought. Today Ever Widening Circles will take you on a little journey of possibility when it comes to pure ingenuity. Source:  Nico Zevallos and Chaohui Gong Did you ever stop to ask yourself why most of us envision the human form when we think of the word “Robot?” What if the real potential of robotics lies with thinking outside that box? Here’s your introduction to snake robotics! Having the flexibility and movements of a slithering reptile allows these robots to squeeze into spaces that their human-form, mechanical cousins, and we humans, haven’t been able to explore. They can do so much more! We will be able to identify structural problems in hidde...

You’ve probably heard that the corals are dying off from rising ocean temperatures around the world. But have you heard about the people hard at work around the globe using science, education, and technologies to save and preserve them? The catchy headline that grabs our attention is so often the one of destruction and chaos. But the rest of the story can add a little balance back to our worldviews and support for those hard at work saving these precious ecosystems. Source:  Pixabay This is the first of two articles we’ll be writing about in the upcoming months about coral restoration. Because let’s face it, we need to celebrate and support the people who are hard at work proving it’s still an amazing world! In this article, we’ll be focusing in on how technology and science are having a huge impact on the way we work to restore and protect one of the most important ecosystems on the planet! Let’s start with the basics: Why should we care about coral reefs? If you...

We often think of robots as a modern obsession. However, our fascination with robots goes further back in history than we may think! The human relationship to  robots , and our desire to enhance the world around us with their presence, is long-standing. From ancient Greek mythology to the present day, robots have been both feared and revered. History shows that our desire to create  objects that can imitate  or outperform humans also induces a deep sense of unease. Today, Craig and Matt of the fantastic YouTube channel  The Good Stuff  teach us a bit about the origins of robots, helping us in the process to gain some perspective on our modern relationship with them: Via:  The Good Stuff   1 This video is a first in a  series of videos by The Good Stuff  on this topic, so if you liked this video, click on the link to see more! Fixing our fear & fascination with robots? Knowing where we c...

Sustainable Energy from Algae and Much More! WRITTEN BY  DR. LYNDA Have you ever avoided a floating glob of green algae while swimming in a lake? What if that goo could be the new generation of renewable energy? Algae may be our destiny! Source:  Pxhere Did you know that algae is the most promising and sustainable source of biofuel? It can be grown on land or sea, and even purify waste water. It doubles its mass in a few hours and can be harvested daily, rather than seasonally like conventional crops used as biofuel sources. And best of all, for every gallon of fuel, we will also get 10 pounds (16 kg) of food to go with it! Algae could potentially produce up to 60 times more oil per acre than land-based plants. Yes, as our search for new innovations in sustainable biofuels landed on corn and soybeans, all the while algae was right there, hiding in plain sight, on slippery stone paths and in every single pond on earth. And that’s a good lesson for us...

WRITTEN BY  LIESL ULRICH-VERDERBER Have you ever looked at a dead fish and thought,  “Now there’s a technological innovation waiting to happen” ? I’m guessing you haven’t, because honestly, who would. Well, after watching today’s video you may walk by the seafood counter at your local market feeling a little more inspired by new innovations. Source:  James Palinsad  //  Flickr Liesl, why are you being so cryptic? Okay, fine, I was trying to build dramatic tension to lead us up to the topic we are exploring today; the future of  advanced technology  using fish scales to  power electronics . Yes, fish scales could help power a very near future! For more on this remarkable idea here’s one of our favorite YouTube Channels,  Gross Science  with more. Gross Science has some great and interesting content over of their channel, so take a moment to  poke around over there  when you get the chance. Via:  ...

Has all the hype about virtual reality intrigued you? What’s going on with this virtual reality stuff anyway? By now, virtual reality (VR) has probably made it on to your radar screen in some way. Maybe you’ve only heard about it in bits and pieces, or maybe you’ve tried it yourself. Whatever the case, virtual reality feels like it could be the new generation of advanced technology. Source:  BagoGames // Flickr So, what’s going on with virtual reality? How does it work? What impact is it having on your brain? Though I have tried a virtual reality headset before, I realized I really didn’t know that much about it, or what is possible with this technology. I’d never really had virtual reality explained to me in a way I was able to understand. So, I decided to look into it and found a great video from one of our favorite YouTube channels,  The Good Stuff , that takes us into the world of virtual reality, exploring its history, psychology...

Technology, for me, it’s giving something back to somebody who was taken out of humanity.” – Andy Fabino What if we told you there are new innovations that can help about 285 million people around the world living with a visual impairment move around with a little more ease?  1 Okay, it’s easy enough to believe, but what if we told you the innovation works by using the surface of their tongues? Source:  Pixabay Now here’s something that should be celebrated: there’s an increasing number of  sensory-substitution device s being developed that use the brain in the most remarkable way. These devices take in visual information from the environment and translate it into forms of physical touch or sound in order to be interpreted by the user as vision. If that’s not amazing enough,  The New Yorker  lets us in on yet another benefit: “While these devices were designed with the goal of restoring lost sensation, in the past decade they have...

Rainforest Connection is saving the rainforest with something sitting in your desk drawer! Rainforests have some of the most complicated soundscapes on the planet. In this dense noise of  insects ,  primates ,  birds , and everything else that moves in the forest, how can you detect the sounds of illegal logging? The old cell phone you have hanging around and collecting dust may have the answer. Source:  Rainforest Connection So, how exactly does one go about saving the rainforest with old cell phones? After a visit to the rainforests of Borneo, physicist and engineer  Topher White  was struck by the sounds of the forest. In particular, the noises he couldn’t hear. While on a walk, White and others came across an illegal logger sawing down a tree just a few hundred meters away from a ranger station. This incident set White thinking that perhaps the best way to save the Earth’s precious rainforest is to listen to its loggers and poachers. An...

Volocopter: The world's first flying taxi, coming to a sky near you soon Sports | 06/07/2019 | 8:36 AM 901 Nico Rosberg Usain Bolt Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's the volocopter, the first manned, fully electric and safe vertical take off and landing (VTOL)  aircraft in the world. It might look like something out of a sci-fi movie based in a distant future, but this vehicle is being released in cities around the world next year. RELATED Canadian Grand Prix 2019: Race prediction, date, UK start time, TV channel, live stream, tickets and F1 odds The vehicle was one of the highlights from the Greentech festival, an event in Berlin designed to showcase the technology and possibilities of a greener future. The festival is the brainchild of former Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg, who has turned away from the gas-guzzling life of an F1 driver to become an eco warrior. READ: Leonardo DiCaprio and Orlando Blook attend Formula E film premiere READ: Usain...